Who in the world would have a party the day after Thanksgiving, coming off of a cooking marathon? Me! Crazy, I know, but I am still really looking forward to seeing my friends at an impromptu get-together before the holiday rush. In fact, it’s sort of a kick-off to the madness of the Holiday Season, called a Black Friday Cocktail Party.

I’m making about half dozen appetizers and serving darling little splits of Freixenet Cordon Negro; the brut champagne in the little black bottles. Here is one of the dishes we’ll be slurping on, I’ll post more recipes and pictures tomorrow and for a few days to come. All will be more than appropriate for your own holiday party or to bring along to the ones you’ll be attending.

Potato, Parsnip, Pear, and Parmesan Shooters

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and diced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch cubes
3/4 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
2 Bosc pears, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
2 cups pear or apple cider
1 cup chicken or turkey broth
1/2 cup half-and-half
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat the oil in a large pot, add the onion and season with salt and pepper.  Sauté the onion until soft and translucent.  Add the potatoes, parsnips, and pears and toss to combine.  Add the cider and broth and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until the parsnips and potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes.

Puree in a blender in batches, until smooth and creamy.  Return soup to pot and stir in the half-and-half and the Parmesan. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as desired.

Serve hot or at room temperature in shot glasses or  vessels of a similar size.

Makes about 7 cups and serves a crowd

It’s nearly summer, and a true summer staple is fruit salad. This is a springboard recipe. Start with this and then add in whatever fruit is fresh and in season. The obvious choices for summer are berries, cherries, mango, kiwi, pineapple and such. But even in the dead of winter, when those choices are not only out of season but out of range for many pocketbooks, this base recipe will get you going. This was one of the recipes I made on Channel 12 Valley Dish yesterday (you can watch the other dish we made on the “In The News” page at the left).  We added in sliced strawberries, kiwi, blackberries and raspberries. The pictures from the live show were taken by birthday girl, Sloane. I have no idea why I look so darn serious in the first shot, I was just setting up my stuff, but look at those huge lemons in the foreground, no those are serious!  Get out to a farmer’s market this weekend and let your imagination run wild with all the colorful fresh fruit possibilities.

Any Season Fruit Salad

Dressing
1/3 cup agava nectar or honey
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons poppy seeds
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup canola oil

Salad
2 pears, cored and diced
2 bananas, sliced
1 avocado, peeled and diced
Juice 1 lemon
11-ounce can mandarin oranges, drained
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans or almonds

Dressing: Place the honey, orange juice, vinegar, poppy seeds, mustard, and lemon zest in a medium bowl and whisk well to combine. Slowing add the oil, while whisking, until oil is incorporated into dressing.

Salad: Place the pear, banana, and avocado in a large glass bowl and toss with the lemon juice to prevent the fruit from oxidizing and turning brown. Add the mandarin oranges, cranberries, and nuts.  Add the dressing and toss gently to coat well.  Serve immediately.

Serves 6

The idea for this recipe came from my dear friend and colleague, Kim Howard. Kim told me about a pecan and date salad with a late harvest vinaigrette that she had at a restaurant. It just sounded too wonderful to not try and duplicate at home, so here goes…Kim, let me know what you think. I can tell you that my plumber, Larry of Lawrence Plumbing, loved it! He happened to arrived soon after I took the photo and right after Connor turned it down for his lunch… he wanted bagel bites… College boys, what the heck!?! But Larry was more than appreciative and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate him… if you ever need a plumber, let me know, because he is the best, promise!

Mixed Greens with Pears, Roasted Dates and Pecans, and Late Harvest Riesling Vinaigrette

Roasted Dates and Pecans
1 cup (about 4 ounces) pecan halves
10 to 12 dates, pitted and quartered
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Kosher salt, to taste

Late Harvest Riesling Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons Late Harvest Reisling or other sweet dessert wine
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon white wine or Champagne vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 cups mixed greens (about 10 ounces)
2 Bosc pears; quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
4 ounces Brie, Saga Blue, or other soft cheese of your choice; rind removed and sliced into thin matchstick size pieces (keep refrigerated until ready to use)

Roasted Dates and Pecans: Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Spread the pecans on one half of a baking sheet and quartered dates on the other half. Place on center rack of oven. Roast, stirring occasionally, until pecans begin to brown and become aromatic, about 35 minutes. Stir in melted butter until pecans and dates are coated. Return to oven and roast for about 8 minutes longer. Salt to taste while still hot. Set aside to cool to room temperature.

Late Harvest Riesling Vinaigrette: In a small bowl; combine dessert wine, balsamic and white wine vinegars, and season with salt and pepper. Whisk in olive oil to combine.

In a shallow dish, drizzle the pears, pecans, and dates with 2 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and toss to coat. In a large bowl, toss the mixed greens with the remaining vinaigrette. Mound the greens on 6 salad plates, top with the dressed pears, pecans, and dates. Divided the cold cheese matchsticks evenly between the plates and serve.

Serves 6

Today is my gorgeous girlfriend, Jen’s, birthday. I cannot begin to express how much I love this amazing woman; she is my rock, my soul-mate sister, my “on demand” comedian, my friend.  She can make me laugh like nobody’s business! She is there through thick and thin and is a loving friend, mother, wife, sister, aunt, and daughter. Whenever I have something to share, complain about, need help, advise, or just want to chat, Jen if the first person I call.

The one really awful thing about Jennifer? She lives 1,400 miles from me (as the crow flies).  Happy birthday Jenny Jen, I forgive you for that one awful thing and love you unconditionally!

For the rest of the week, I will highlight and share recipes from Jen, who is coincidently, a great cook, or recipes of mine that are favorites of hers. Today’s recipe is a fun and quite rich appetizer pizza that is perfect for upcoming holiday parties.

My girl, Jen

Jenny’s Sweet Ciabatta Pizza

1 cup pecans, toasted
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons honey or agave nectar
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
8-ounce loaf ciabatta, halved horizontally
6 ounces Havarti cheese, thinly sliced
3 ounces thin slices prosciutto, cut into strips
2 pears, quartered, cored, and thinly sliced
1/2 cup crumbled Gorgonzola
1 cup arugula leaves

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Blend pecans, oil, honey, and thyme in a food processor until nuts are finely chopped.  Season with salt and pepper.

Place bread halves on a baking sheet.  Spread each half with the nut mixture.  Top with Havarti and bake until bubbly and golden, about 12 minutes.

Remove from oven and top with prosciutto, pears, and Gorgonzola.  Tuck arugula around the pears, slice and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 8

Pears were poached in a sweet liquid and used for dessert in yesterday’s post.  Today, these wine poached pears with be used in a savory salad. The flesh takes on a gorgeous deep red color.

Walnut oil is used for the vinaigrette, but olive oil can be substituted. Nut oils should always be stored in the refrigerator. Just like the nuts they come from, the oils goes rancid quickly at room temperature.

The “seeds” of a fresh pomegranate are called arils and they should be showing up in markets since it is pomegranate season, take advantage and purchase them now, the season is short. The good news – arils can be frozen. To freeze, spread arils in a single layer on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Place in freezer for about two hours. Transfer frozen arils to a labeled and dated zip-lock bag. You can easily remove the amount you need when desired and return the rest quickly to the freezer.  They will keep for about 6 months.

This salad is beautiful for any of the upcoming holidays and the poaching liquid can be saved for an upcoming Thanksgiving recipe for Pearl Onions and Wild Mushrooms in Red Wine Sauce, which will be posted later this week.*

Zinfandel-Pom Poached Pear, Blue Cheese, and Walnut Salad

2 cups red Zinfandel wine
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 Bosc or Anjou pears, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cored (use a mellon baller)

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch of sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup walnut oil
2 cup mixed greens and/or baby spinach

1/2 cup Roquefort cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup fresh pomegranate arils (seeds)
1/2 cup toasted walnut halves
Honey, for drizzling

Pour wine, pomegranate juice, and pepper into a saucepan just large enough to hold pear halves snuggly. Place pear halves in pan, cut side up. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce heat to a low simmer.

Poach pears for 15 to 20 minutes until soft. (The exact amount of poaching time will depend on the ripeness of the pears, so test by poking with the tip of a paring knife periodically.) Use tongs to gently turn over pear halves, cut side down. Remove from heat and allow the pears to cool completely in the liquid.  When cool, remove pear halves to a plate and reserve poaching liquid for another use if desired (*there will be about 1 1/2 cups liquid remaining, pour into jar, cover and refrigerate).

While pears are cooling make vinaigrette; in a small bowl whisk vinegar, mustard, and sugar together to blend, slowing pour walnut oil into bowl while whisking until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

When pears are cool and you are ready to serve; toss greens with vinaigrette and mound on each salad plate, place a pear half next to salad greens, fill each pear hole with crumbled blue cheese and sprinkle pomegranate arils and toasted walnuts on top of pear and around the plate.  Drizzle each plate lightly with honey.

Serves 4

I believe I’ve mentioned this before – I love chai tea! My brain has been working overtime to come up with recipes to use the chai concentrate that I am totally addicted too. First up are poached pears in chai – these are delicious! The poaching liquid uses a fresh vanilla bean. Vanilla beans (and extract for that matter) are expensive, so be sure you’re getting a nice fresh one. The way to tell if it is fresh is to feel it. It should be soft and pliable, when you bend it, it should not break or crack. Costco sells gorgeous plump beans in a glass tube with a rubber stopper (the stopper helps keep them fresh longer once the package is opened). The glass tube is attached to a large piece of cardboard, look for it in the spice aisle. A good reason to purchase the beans at Costco is because of their high turnover. When purchasing vanilla beans at the grocery store, (where the turnover isn’t as quick) be sure to pull a bottle from the very back of the shelf and give it a good shake and listen to whether it sounds hard or soft. If you get it home and it is hard and breaking, be sure to return it, it is of no use in that state.

Once you remove the vanilla bean from the poaching liquid, allow it to dry on a counter for a couple days, when it is completely dry, add it to your container of granulated sugar, the vanilla flavor will permeate the sugar and give you  lovely vanilla scented sugar.

The best way to core the pears is with a mellon-baller. It creates a perfectly round hole in the pear to fill. Tomorrow the other poached pear recipe – savory instead of sweet…

Chai Poached Pears filled with Mascarpone

3 cups Chai (spiced black tea latte) concentrate, such as Tazo
1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 Bosc pears, peeled, halved lengthwise, and cored
1/3 cup mascarpone cheese
1/8 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Finely grated zest of 1 orange, divided
1/4 cup heavy cream
Freshly grated nutmeg, for garnish

Pour Chai concentrate into a saucepan just large enough to hold pear halves snuggly. Using the back of a paring knife, scrape the vanilla seeds from only one of the bean halves (return other half to its container) and add both the vanilla seeds and the bean half to the pan. Place pear halves in pan, cut side down. Bring to a boil, immediately reduce heat to a low simmer. Poach pears for 15 to 20 minutes until soft. (The exact amount of poaching time will depend on the ripeness of the pears, so test by poking with the tip of a paring knife periodically.) Use tongs to gently turn over pear halves, cut side up. Remove from heat and allow the pears to cool completely in the liquid.  When cool, remove pear halves to a plate and reserve poaching liquid.

Mix mascarpone, vanilla and ground cinnamon in a small bowl, add 2 teaspoons of the poaching liquid and stir to blend until smooth. Either dollop the mascarpone mixture into the holes of the pear halves or place the mixture in a pastry bag with desired tip and decoratively pipe into holes.

Remove all but 3/4 cup of the poaching liquid from the saucepan*, add 1/2 of the orange zest and the cream. Place over very low heat, stirring occasionally until hot, about 5 minutes.

To serve place one mascarpone filled pear half on a each plate. Spoon sauce around the pears. Garnish with remaining orange zest and freshly grated nutmeg.

*Chill the remaining liquid and reuse to make Chai tea lattes (to do so just mix chai with an equal amount of milk over ice, stir, and enjoy!)

Serves 4

Nutella on top, brie on the bottom.

Nutella with Pear and Brie with Chocolate Panini

2 slices panettone or 2 slices raisin bread, cut in quarters
Nutella (hazelnut chocolate spread)
Peeled thin pear slices, enough to cover 2 quarter slices of the bread
Brie cheese cut in thin slices, enough to cover 2 quarter slices of the bread
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the panini grill pan to medium-high heat.

Spread  2 of the quarter slices of  bread  with  Nutella. Top with pear slices. Spread 2 more quarter slices of bread with Nutella and press the sandwiches together.

Cover 2  more of the quarter slices of bread with brie cheese. Top with chocolate chips. Cover remaining 2 quarter slices of bread with brie and press the sandwiches together.

ready to press together and grill

Use a metal spatula to transfer all sandwiches to grill pan and place top down on the sandwich for2 minutes until cheese and the chocolate chips are  melted and the panini have grill marks.

Remove from pan and serve immediately.

Makes 4 dessert panini

Panini are the perfect weekend late lunch or dinner while watching my Arizona Cardinals in Sunday Night Football.  The word “panino” is Italian for small bread roll; its plural form is panini. Many Americans use the word paninis, which is incorrect.  I’m using panettone as the bread for my panini. Panettone is a sweet bread of Milan, it is usually prepared for Christmas and New Year all around Italy and is one of the symbols of Milan.  It is readily available in markets now and throughout the holidays.  I found two flavors at Cost Plus World Market, the traditional which is studded with candied orange, citron, lemon zest and raisins. The other is a Cranberry Panettone and has dried cranberries in place of the raisins.

To make panini, you can use an electric panini press, a cast-iron stove-top press, a waffle iron, or even a George Forman grill.  Just be sure to preheat whatever you use. I have a well seasoned stove top cast-iron press, so I do not butter my bread first, but you certainly can if you so chose.

I was drinking a chai tea latte while I was making these and just before I was going to caramelize the apple slices, I decided to use the chai tea concentrate instead of water to caramelize the sugar… turned out great!  I love the TAZO brand, but you can easily use 1/4 cup water in it’s place.

Sunday Night Football Panini

1 purchased Panettone

Roquefort, Pear, Walnut, and Honey Panini
2 ounces Roqufort cheese, room temperature
1/4 pear, cored and thinly sliced
4-5 walnut halves
1 tablespoon honey

Bacon, White Cheddar, Apple Panini
3 slices bacon, cooked crisp and drained
6-8 slices sharp white cheddar cheese
1/4 apple, cored and thinly sliced

Brie, Chai Tea Caramelized Apple, and Pecan Panini
6-8 slices brie cheese
1/4 cup chai tea latte concentrate
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 apple, cored and thinly sliced
4-5 pecan halves

Preheat the panini grill pan to medium-high heat.

For each sandwich: Starting at the bottom side of the panattone, cut a slice 1/2- inch thick and cut the slice in half, forming two 1/2 moon shapes.

For Roquefort, Pear, Walnut, and Honey Panini: Spread 1 slice of  bread  with  softened cheese. Top with pear slices, sprinkle with walnuts and drizzle with honey.  Lightly spread the other slice of bread with cheese and place that slice on top of sandwich, cheese side down. Use a metal spatula to transfer sandwich to grill pan and place top down on the sandwich for 3 to 4 minutes until warmed through and panini has grill marks.

For White Cheddar, Bacon, and Apple Panini: Cover 1 slice of bread with cheddar cheese slices. Top with crisp bacon and apple slices. Cover apple slices with more cheddar cheese slices. Use a metal spatula to transfer sandwich to grill pan and place top down on the sandwich for 3 to 4 minutes until cheese is melted and panini has grill marks.

For Brie, Chai Tea Caramelized Apples, and Pecan Panini: Pour Chai Tea Latte Concentrate and sugar in a small skillet, over high heat.  Bring to a boil without stirring.  When large bubbles form, most of the liquid has cooked off and the sugar is beginning to caramelize, add the apple slices and reduce heat to medium, stir occasionally until apples soften, about 4 minutes.  Remove from heat.

chai and sugar, ready for apples, caramelized apples

Cover 1 slice of bread with brie cheese slices. Top with apple slices and sprinkle with pecans.  Cover apple slices with more brie cheese slices. Use a metal spatula to transfer sandwich to grill pan and place top down on the sandwich for 3 to 4 minutes until cheese is melted and panini has grill marks.

Makes 1 sandwich of each flavor